Generally, a sliding door that opens and closes a door opening of a vehicle is supported by slide rails, which are arranged in the vehicle body, to be movable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Further, a sliding door system may include two drive cables. An end of one of the drive cables is fixed to the vehicle body near the front end of the slide rail, and an end of the other drive cable is fixed to the vehicle body near the rear end of the slide rail. A drum device, which is arranged in the sliding door, winds one of the drive cables and unwinds the other drive cable. This opens and closes the sliding door.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes a sliding door system in which a guide pulley is located at the connection section between a sliding door and a slide rail. The guide pulley includes a plurality of separate grooves around which two drive cables are wound. The two drive cables are routed in opposite directions along the slide rail, which extends in the vehicle front-rear direction.
More specifically, the sliding door system includes a guide pulley device that includes first and second guide pulleys around which the respective drive cables are wound. In the guide pulley device, the first guide pulley is formed by one pulley that includes separate grooves, which are arranged in two tiers. The second guide pulley is formed by two separate pulleys, which are coaxially arranged. The guide pulley device further includes a receptacle that accommodates the first and second guide pulleys. The guide pulley device is fixed to a support arm of a guide roller unit, which connects the sliding door and the slide rail, such that the first guide pulley is closer to the vehicle body and the second guide pulley is closer to the sliding door.
In the guide pulley device, the receptacle is formed by coupling a first accommodation member and a second accommodation member together. The first accommodation member includes a base from which support shafts that support the guide pulleys project. The second accommodation member includes a lid that faces the base of the first accommodation member. Partitions and protectors are arranged between the first and second accommodation members. The partitions form routing passages in the receptacle. The routing passages are associated with the respective drive cables. The protectors are hooks that protrude into the grooves of the first and second guide pulleys to remove foreign matter, such as ice, that adheres to the grooves.